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Biography and Memoir August 2017
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| Going Deep: John Philip Holland and the Invention of the Attack Submarine by Lawrence GoldstoneLate in the 19th century, Irish inventor John Philip Holland designed the first torpedo-firing submarine that could stay submerged for a long period, but his efforts to sell his designs to Irish revolutionaries and the U.S. Navy ended in disappointment. In Going Deep, historian Lawrence Goldstone provides a "delightful" (Publishers Weekly) biography of Holland, bringing his achievements to light while explaining his political and financial difficulties. To follow up with a comprehensive history of submarines, check out Thomas Parrish's The Submarine. |
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| Believe Me: A Memoir of Love, Death, and Jazz Chickens by Eddie IzzardBritish comedian Eddie Izzard, who finds accessible humor in a wide range of erudite subjects (including linguistic history, sexual politics, mad kings, and chickens with guns), wittily and candidly recounts his life in this "more rueful than boastful" (Kirkus Reviews) memoir. Izzard's fans will be intrigued by the challenges in his life, while those unfamiliar with his career may be delighted to discover a new source of television and film entertainment. |
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Born Bright: A Young Girl's Journey from Nothing to Something in America
by C. Nicole Mason
As an academic and an influential voice in women's studies, author C. Nicole Mason is at the top of her field. But her early life would not have predicted this success: she was born into poverty in 1970s Southern California and fought every step of the way to rise above the limitations imposed on the poor, especially African Americans. In Born Bright, she chronicles her life while cataloguing those barriers, providing a view of America's class strictures that is both well-researched and personal. This thought-provoking and engaging account offers a moving testament to Mason's achievements and the struggles of many African Americans.
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| Daring to Drive: A Saudi Woman's Awakening by Manal Al-SharifThough author Manal Al-Sharif grew up as a devoutly fundamentalist Muslim in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, she later received a technical education that led to a job as a computer security engineer. In Daring to Drive, she relates how she publicized a protest movement, the Women2Drive campaign, with a video recording of herself driving a car. This eye-opening memoir vividly portrays the customary restrictions on girls and women in her country as well as the difficulties of pushing for social change. For additional insight into women's lives in Saudi Arabia, try Jean Sasson's Princess or Carmen bin Ladin's Inside the Kingdom. |
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A Series of Catastrophes & Miracles: A True Story of Love, Science, and Cancer
by Mary Elizabeth Williams
In 2010, after journalist Mary Elizabeth Williams received a diagnosis of malignant melanoma and was given six months to live, she enrolled in a clinical trial that offered cutting-edge immunotherapy. Surprisingly, she appeared cancer free after 12 weeks, and remains healthy in 2016. In her candid and detailed memoir, Williams relates the physical and emotional trauma of her disease and treatment, employing an amusing, anecdotal style that reads almost like a novel. If you have faced similar challenges or are especially interested in the current state of cancer research and treatment, you'll want to seek out this uplifting book.
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| Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War by Karen AbbottIn this well-researched group biography that reads like a spy thriller, author Karen Abbott portrays some unusual participants in the American Civil War. Four women aided their causes (two on the Union side and two for the Confederacy) by going against expected norms to collect and pass on valuable information. Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy weaves together parallel accounts of the women's activities and includes additional historical details about other women who assumed unconventional roles during the war. |
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| The Art of Intelligence: Lessons from a Life in the CIA's Clandestine Service by Henry A. CrumptonCIA agent and counterterrorism expert Henry Crumpton recounts his 25-year career as a spy in this absorbing and eye-opening memoir. Providing descriptions of espionage duties from routine administration to the challenges of field espionage, he relates his early advocacy of spy drones and critiques both the Bush and the Obama administrations' actions regarding the CIA. The Art of Intelligence presents an "entertainingly frank" (The Washington Post) insider view of the Agency that espionage and history buffs won't want to miss. |
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Asylum: A Survivor's Flight from Nazi-Occupied Vienna Through Wartime France
by Moriz Scheyer; translated by Peter Singer
Viennese art critic Moriz Scheyer escaped from the Nazis with his wife and a Czech companion in 1938, eventually finding sanctuary in France. While in hiding, he detailed their ordeal in this gripping memoir, which was thought to have been destroyed in 1948. His elegantly crafted account vividly records the family's journey, the people who helped -- and hindered -- them, and his thoughts on brutality and suffering. Fortunately for lovers of beautiful writing about difficult subjects, Scheyer's step-grandson recently discovered a copy of the manuscript, translated it, and saw it to publication.
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| A Cool and Lonely Courage: The Untold Story of Sister Spies in Occupied France by Susan OttawayBritish citizens Eileen and Jacqueline Nearne grew up mainly in France, but they returned to Britain to help the Allied war effort after the Nazis occupied Paris. After training with the British Special Operations Executive (SOE), both went to work with the French Resistance, collecting information and transmitting it within the Resistance and back to England. In this gripping account, author Susan Ottaway, who interviewed Eileen late in her life, describes each sister's war experience while detailing the SOE's efforts in France. Ottaway's Violette Szabo offers additional insight into women's intelligence work during World War II. |
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| The Devil's Chessboard: Allen Dulles, the CIA, and the Rise of America's Secret Government by David TalbotIn The Devil's Chessboard, author David Talbot, founding editor-in-chief of Salon, provides chilling details of 1950s CIA Director Allen Dulles' secret influence during and after World War II. With deep connections to powerful business interests, attorney Dulles planned to fight Communism after the war -- in cooperation with German capitalists. Later, he went well beyond intelligence gathering to promote covert actions around the world, including a coup in Iran and the Bay of Pigs debacle in Cuba. For additional recent studies of Dulles, check out Scott Miller's Agent 110 and Stephen Kinzer's The Brothers. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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